1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to portable folding dressing blinds for changing clothes at a beach or other site that lacks convenient private facilities.
2. Description of Prior Art
Prior patents show numerous portable clothes changing blinds made of fabric for beach-goers. These range from tents to a curtain enclosure that hangs from an umbrella-like hat worn by the occupant. Tents are time-consuming to erect and fold. They require assembly of frame elements, and they often require one or more support poles and/or stakes to be hammered into the ground. On the other extreme, a curtain that hangs from the head or shoulders of an occupant prevents the occupant from changing any article of clothing that goes over the head, such as a shirt, blouse, or some dresses.
Windy conditions are normal on beaches, and many prior designs provide for winds. Provisions include stakes for the lower edges of the fabric and/or pockets for ballast such as sand. Stakes are time-consuming and inconvenient to install. They are easily lost or left behind. Short stakes are not effective in loose sand, but long stakes are bulky. Sand ballast is time-consuming to scoop and pour into pockets for each set-up, and to pour out for each folding. However, if the ballast is permanent, then the folded blind is heavy and bulky.
The fabric of a portable blind can become soiled from lying on the ground, from spillage of drinks in a car trunk, etc. It should therefore be easy to clean. Any fabric that has sewn-in frame elements or permanent ballast cannot be washed in a washing machine. Elements such as metal grommets, ties, and temporary sand ballast in pockets can make washing more difficult.
For these and other reasons, none of the prior devices provide a combination of fast, convenient set-up and folding; a small, light folded form; stability in wind; easily washable fabric; and a blind that can be used for all clothes changing.